Foundation garment anchor



FOUNDATION GARMENT ANCHOR Filed Aug. 3, 1942 C. BULLINGER Oct. 3, 1944.

Patented Oct. 3, 1944 2,359,463 FOUNDATION GARMENT ANoHoR Conrad Bulling'er, Riverside, Ill., assignor to A. Stein & Company, a corporation of Illinois Application August 3, 1942, Serial No. 453,311

3 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved device designed to be worn by Women around the thighs and to which the usual hose supporters of a girdle or other foundation garment may be attached, the improved device being then operative to prevent the girdle or other foundation garment from riding or creeping upwardly incident to bending, sitting or other body movements. The device is preferably to be worn in about the same position on the thigh that is normally occupied by a stocking top and, as indicated, it serves in the place of the stockings for holding the girdle or garment in place.

The main objects of the invention are to provide a device which will effectively hold down the girdle or like garment which is secured to the device through the agency of the usual hose supporters or the like and which device will be of relatively small size in respect of its vertical extent so as to be capable of being worn in about the location of the usual stocking tops and correspondingly concealed under the outer clothing; to provide a device of the character indicated which will be of light weight, porous material so as to avoid objectionable warmth and which will eiTectively grip the thigh of the wearer without producing an uncomfortable binding or constricting effect; to provide a device of the character indicated which will remain smooth or in substantially unwrinkled condition notwithstanding the attachment of various forms of hose supporters to the device; to provide a device of such construction as to avoid any end or edge rolling eiects incident to pulls transmitted to the device from the garment which is anchored to the device; and in general it is the object of the invention to provide an improved girdle or foundation garment hold-down device or anchor of the character indicated.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be understood by reference to the following specication and accompanying drawing wherein there is illustrated a selected form of the improved anchor.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective illustrating the manner in which the improved device is worn.

Fig. 2 is a perspective of the improved device.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Fig. 4 is a front elevation showing one form of hose supporter attached to the device.

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the form of blank ing another form of hose supporter attached to the device.

The improved garment anchor as herein illustrated is in the form of a band of suitable fabric material, preferably having certain Characteristics which will presently be explained, and of such size as to snugly iit the thighs of the wearer in approximately the same Way that the tops oi a properly tted pair of stockings would t the thighs of the wearer. In Figure 1, the improved anchor devices are indicated in their entirety at I0, being worn on each thigh somewhat above the knee and having hose supporters indicated at I I attached thereto. The hose supporters II are the front hose supporters of any conventional girdle or other foundation garment I2. Similar hose supporters depend from the rear of the garment I2 and are also attached to the anchors I0.

The band I0 may be formed from a blank or pattern of the character illustrated in Figure 5 wherein the bottom edge of the blank is designated. I3, ahorizontal fold line indicated at I4 and thetop edge indicated at I5. As shown the top edge of the blank is provided with two horizontally spaced peaked portions II and I'I, the peak of each portion I6 and I1 being spaced from the ends I8 and I9 respectively of the blank.

To form the anchor in the construction shown in Figures 2, 3 and 4, I prefer to employ a jerseyknit material of such a character as to have approximately. equal stretchability in each of two Ways, namely, both horizontally and vertically as indicated by the arrows 2l! and 2| respectively. Such material is well known .and the details of its formation form no part of the present invention and hence need not be .eX- plained in this application.

The specic character of stitch employed in the material is not important nor is it important that the material be of knit character. However, it is preferable that material having the indicated stretch characteristics be employed since it hasbeen found that such material gives satisfactory results both in respect of its functional eiiiciency and its comfort characteristics. Furthermore I prefer to employ a known jersey# knit material in which there is a predominance Fig. 6 is a fragmentary front elevation showof thread running diagonally of the length and breadth of the blanks substantially as indicated by the lines 22 so that there is restricted stretchability in such diagonal directions. With a desirable light weight grade of knitted material of the character indicated, I prefer to employ a blank consisting of two plies of the material arranged in registering relationship. The lower marginal portion of the two-ply blank is folded upon itself along a horizontally extending fold line, such as indicated at I4 and the free edge I3 stitched or otherwise suitably bound to the body of the blank as indicated at 23. In this instance the binding 23 is illustrated in the form of stitching of a well known character which extends across the free edge portion of the turned-up fabric margin so as to effectively cover the raw edge and unite it to the body of the article. The stitching 23 also serves to reinforce the blank against horizontal stretching in the line of the stitching and otherwise serves a desirable purpose which will presently be explained.

'I'he hemmed edge blank next has its ends I8 and I9 joined by a vertical seam indicated at 24, the seam 24 being of any suitable kind for joining the said ends and covering the raw end edges of the material, especially on the outside of the device.

When the two-ply blank is folded and has its ends joined in the manner explained, the resulting product is an annulus or band having front and rear top edge peaks I6 and I'I, a vertical seam 24 and a horizontal or circumferentially extending line of stitching v23 (see Figures 2, 3 and 4).

The band or annulus is placed on the thigh in about the position normally occupied by a stocking top and the front hose supporter which depends from a, girdle or foundation garment is attached to the front peak I6 of the anchor device. The usual rear hose supporter is similarly attached to the rear peak I'I of the device. The band is of such size that it is a comfortably snug but not binding fit on the thigh of the wearer. When an upwardly directed pull is applied to the anchor band by hose supporters attachedrto the front and rear peaks I6 and I'I, there is a pronounced tendency to stretch the device vertically and such vertical stretching produces a horizontal or circumferential constricting effect to cause the band to more tightly t the thigh of the wearer. However, the band is stretchable circumferentially as well as horizontally and so accommodates itself to the required vertical extension Without producing an objectionably tight or constricting fit on the wearers thigh. Some tightening is of course effected and is desirable to prevent the anchor band from sliding upwardly on the thigh and such tightening does result from the upward pull on the ypeaks I6 and I'I of the band.

Apparently because of the diagonally extending arrangement of threads in the material as indicated at 22, there occurs a more or less direct transmission of pull from the peaks I6 and I1 in a diagonal direction to the reinforcing seam 23 which is of course less stretchable than the fabric of the band above and below such seam. The reduced stretchability of the seam portion 23 causes said seam to resist circumferential extension to the same extent that the material above and below the seam extends horizontally and hence produces a somewhat stronger gripping effect in the area of said seam than occurs in the band above and below said seam. In Figure 4 the anchoring sleeve is shown in full lines in normal unstretched or unstrained condition. In dotted lines there is indicated the approximate distortion effect on the band when an upward pull is transmitted to the front and rear peaks. As shown in dotted lines, the peaks are stretched upwardly and the seam zone 23 appears somewhat restricted .circumferentially relative to the seam zone of the unstretched device, Such restriction of the seam zone is probably an actual restriction which occurs incident to the vertical elongation of the material of the band and such restriction is probably somewhat accentuated by the fact that the material of the article above and below the seam may yield somewhat in a horizontal direction so as to maintain its normal, relatively unbinding fit on the thigh of the wearer.

The peaked formation of the article as illustrated is further advantageous in that it avoids a tendency of a conventional straight top band to roll or fold downwardly along its top edge on opposite sides of the attached hose supporters. As indicated in Figure 4, with an ordinary button and loop type of hose supporter, there is substantially no wrinkling of the fabric of the anchor device around the hose supporter, such wrinkling being avoided by the stretchability of the fabric employed which permits the fabric to conform itself to the button without producing wrinkles of any material size around the button.

Where the so-called Inviz-A-Grip type of hose supporter is employed as shown in Figure 6, the peaks I6 and I1 admirably adapt themselves to the required twisting of the fabric in the peaks without producing excessive or objectionable wrinkling and hence serve to maintain snugness of fit even with this folded or rolled type of anchorage.

Foundation garment anchors of the character indicated may of course be made adjustablein respect of their circumferential size by providing any suitable laced connection or other adjustable connection between the ends I8 and I9 of the band. However, it is preferred that the bands be made in the form illustrated and that they be made in a sufficient range of sizes to t various thigh sizes.

Changes in the described -construction may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which should be determined by reference to the following claims, the same being construed as broadly as possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim:

l. A garment anchor adapted to be worn on the leg above the knee and connected by a garter or the like to a foundation or like garment, comprising a band of fabric which is stretchable ,in two directions and which fabric is arranged in the band so that the band is stretchable both c'ircumferentially and axially, the band also being constrictable circumferentially as an incident to axial stretching thereof, said band having a lower marginal portion of substantial width turned upwardly so as to provide a hemmed lower portion of substantial width, the free edge of said upwardly turned portion being bound to the body portion of the band intermediate its upper and lower edges, thereby to form a circumferentially extending reinforced zone intermediate the upper and lower edges of the band, the arrangement being such that when the anchor is worn on the leg, and an upward pullV is applied to a localized part of its upper -edge portion, as by a garter attached thereto, the band will be constrii'ctedrin said reinforced zone, the hem portion of the band serving to cause said constriction to be effected gradually from minimum at the lower edge of the band to maximum at said reinforced zone, thereby avoiding sharp, uncomfortable constriction of the leg.

2. A garment anchor adapted to be worn on the leg above the knee and connected by a garter or the like to a foundation or like garment, comprising a band of fabric which is stretchable in two directions and which fabric is arranged in the band so that the band is stretchable both circumferentially and axially, the band also being constri-ctable circumferentially as an incident to axial stretching thereof, said band having its upper edge provided with a pair of circumferentially spaced, upwardly extending peaked portions, to the apex of which the garter is adapted to be attached, said band having a lower marginal portion of substantial width turned upwardly so as to provide a hemmed lower portion of substantial width, the free edge of said upwardly turned portion being bound to the body portion of the band intermediate its upper and lower edges, thereby to form a circumerentially extending reinforced zone intermediate the upper and lower edges of the band, the arrangement being such that when the anchor is worn on the leg, and an upward pull is applied to the apex part oi said peaked portion, the band will be constnicted in said reinforced Zone, the hem portion of the band serving to cause said constriction to be effected gradually from minimum at the lower edge of the band to maximum at said reinforced zone, thereby avoiding sharp, uncomfortable constriction of the leg of the wearer, the` upper margins of said peaked portions being operative to directly transmit constricting forces to said reinforced zone, said margins being thereby held taut so as to avoid rolling of the upper marginal portions of the band as an incident to the upward pull of the garter attached to the apices of said peaked portions.

3. A garment anchor comprising a band of fabric having a predominance of thread extending diagonally of the band and so arranged as to permit substantial stretching of the band both vertically and horizontally, the band having a pair of circumferentially spaced, peaked, garterattaching portions extending upwardly from its upper edge, and a lower marginal portion of substantial width turned upwardly so as to provide a, hemmed lower portion of substantial width, the free edge of said upwardly turned portion being bound to the body portion of the band intermediate its upper and lower edges, thereby 'forming a circumferentially extending reinforced zone intermediate the upper and lower edges of the band.

CONRAD BULLINGER. 

